Bachelor Nation
What Happened to ‘Bachelor in Paradise’s Carly Waddell & Evan Bass? Where They Stand Now
Season 3 of Bachelor in Paradise featured the unlikely pairing of Carly Waddell and Evan Bass. Although she started the season with no interest in him, they ended up falling in love and getting engaged at the final rose ceremony.
In 2017, Waddell and Bass returned to the show to tie the knot during Season 4. But were they one of the Bachelor Nation couples that made their love last? Scroll down for an update on what happened to them and where they stand now.
What happened to Carly Waddell and Evan Bass?
Sadly, things didn’t work out between Waddell and Bass. They announced in December 2020 that they had broken up and were divorcing. Waddell later revealed that they had officially separated a few weeks earlier, the day after Thanksgiving.
“We tried for a really long time to make it work,” she said in a 2021 YouTube video. “We focused a lot more on the kids than we focused on ourselves, and ultimately, I think that was probably our biggest downfall. The kids came at the top of the pyramid, and we never put ourselves at the top.”
Bass was the one who initiated the split, but Waddell acknowledged that she and her ex-husband had been in therapy for two years before that. “I always told him that if he wanted out, then it was his call because I’m just a person that would never be out,” she admitted. “So, what are you gonna do? If somebody doesn’t want to be with you, they don’t want to be with you.”
Bass shared his side of the story on the Talking It Out with Bachelor Nation podcast in 2022.
“When we left [Bachelor in Paradise], we weren’t able to set a proper foundation,” he explained. “Paradise gives you a kind of foundation, but there is nothing else going on, and you only have to focus on your relationship. You talk about real-life stuff, and it was really genuine, but when you get out, the transition was where we missed on some things. We didn’t communicate about our values and just communication in general. Figuring out how to work through life, I have other children that aren’t with Carly. So there was just a lot to work through, and I don’t think we set the foundation in the way that we should have.”
Do Carly Waddell and Evan Bass have kids?
Yes, Waddell and Bass are parents to two children. Their daughter, Bella, was born in February 2018, followed by son Charlie in November 2019. Bass also has three sons from a previous relationship.
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In 2023, Waddell told Us Weekly that she has the kids about “80%” of the time, but said that coparenting with her ex was going well. She praised Bass while discussing how they handled the situation.
“He knows what he is doing,” Waddell admitted, referring to Bass’ previous coparenting experience with his ex. “They go over there every other weekend. And I remember at first I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, like, what are they doing over there?’ But now I’m just like, ‘He’s got it.’ If there’s ever a problem, like, a sickness or something, we talk about it and we work it out. But it’s not a problem. It’s very easy.”
Is Carly Waddell in a relationship now?
Yes, Waddell is engaged to Todd Allen Tressler, a lawyer in Tennessee. The two quietly started dating in 2023 after she slid into his DMs, but they didn’t hard-launch their relationship until March 2024. A few months earlier, Waddell revealed that she was seeing someone, but she didn’t share Tressler’s identity until they went Instagram official.
In October 2024, Waddell revealed that her man had popped the question, and shared that she had actually asked him to marry her one year earlier.
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“Many of y’all have been wondering why Todd wears a ring on his hand and it is actually because I asked him last Halloween to marry me first,” the former reality star shared. “SPOILER ALERT, he said yes, even though to be honest he was so shocked it was hard for him to be! Then, also SPOILER ALERT he asked me THIS October and I also said YES!!!! … Here’s to a new chapter with my dream man and the dream ring he put on my left hand.”
Waddell and Tressler are already planning their future together, and she revealed in April that kids are on their radar. “We are going to start trying naturally,” she shared during an Instagram Q&A. “But, I also have frozen eggs. Wish us luck!”
What happened to Evan Bass?
Bass is also in a new relationship. It was revealed in August 2024 that he’s dating Kristen Rodgers, although social media activity confirms that they’ve been together since at least June 2023, which is when they started posting photos together (although her page appears to have been deleted since then).
The couple is very private about their relationship, so there are no recent updates.
